Independently Wealthy by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal

Author:Lorraine Zago Rosenthal
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781466835634
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Sixteen

It was the end of January and my last Friday at Femme before my trip to D.C. Kitty was out at meetings all day, but I was still so busy that I was surprised when I looked up from my work to find it was almost noon.

I put down my pencil and picked up my phone. Celeste and I still hadn’t had lunch together, so I called her and asked if she was available now, but it turned out that she wasn’t.

“Your brother is taking me to lunch at the Four Seasons,” she said.

Perfect. Brilliant. Good job, Ned. “We’ll do it another time, then.”

“Monday?” she asked.

“I’ll be out of town all next week. But I’ll give you my cell number … we can schedule something for when I get back.”

She agreed. We exchanged numbers, and after we hung up I decided to skip lunch because there was a lot to do before I left. So I stayed where I was until six, and then I put on my coat and walked out to the lobby to wait for an elevator. When it arrived and the doors opened, I saw Ned inside. I joined him and watched the doors shut.

“Big plans tonight?” I asked as the elevator raced downward.

“I’ll be working,” he said. “I’m just going out to get dinner.”

I nodded. “How was lunch today? At the Four Seasons, I mean.”

He gave me a weary stare. “I didn’t realize our deal required postgame analysis.”

He never failed to irritate me. “I’ve already told you this isn’t a deal. Celeste mentioned you were taking her to lunch, so I was just wondering how it went. By the way … I approve of your first-date restaurant selection.”

“It wasn’t a first date. We had lunch once last week and dinner on Saturday.”

“You did? I had no idea, Ned. So how’s it going? Are you seeing her this weekend?”

The elevator stopped at another floor. The doors opened, a crowd of people came inside, and Ned moved closer to me and lowered his voice. “It’s going fine. And I am seeing her this weekend. But don’t sound so damn eager. It puts me on edge.”

He turned away and stared straight ahead like he didn’t want to talk anymore, probably because his employees were around. Soon the elevator stopped, the doors opened, and the other people walked out.

I turned to Ned as we stepped into the lobby. “Well … have a nice weekend,” I said.

“Not likely, as I’ll be here for most of it. But I guess you won’t be around for a while, right? Caroline mentioned you’re heading to a conference in … what did she tell me … Philly?”

“D.C.,” I said.

He nodded, moving his eyes to the buttons on his coat. I watched him close each one, and then he looked at me again. “Take care of yourself while you’re there,” he said, giving me a smile I didn’t expect. I also didn’t expect to feel guilty for conning him.

* * *

Marjorie had a dance recital for her tap class on Saturday morning.

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